Behind the scenes look at rehabilitation of cold-stunned turtles at MS Aquarium
GULFPORT, Miss. (WXXV) — The Mississippi Aquarium is working to rehabilitate the world’s most endangered species of sea turtles right here in Gulfport. We got a behind the scenes look at the extensive process.
Every winter, Kemp’s Ridley Sea turtles strand off the coast of New England. Turtles can not regulate their body temperatures, and water temps become cold around that time of the year, causing what is called “Cold-stunning.”
Cold-stunned turtles become weak, and have a hard time swimming. They suffer from frostbite and eventually stop eating. This can lead to health problems or cause infections.
Around 1,000 Kemp’s sea turtles are rescued each year during the cold stunning event. They are then sent off, by private jet, to rehab facilities like the one here on the Gulf Coast.
During the winter months each year, the aquarium takes in between 40-60 cold-stunned turtles. As for this year’s group, all but seven have been released back into The Gulf.
Though the sea turtles arrive in varying conditions, the aquarium says the survival rate is upwards of 90% for cold-stunned turtles treated in secondary facilities like this one.
In the next couple of weeks, the Mississippi Aquarium is expecting to release five of the seven cold-stunned sea turtles they have been working with for the last couple of months. They are hoping to have a release sometime in September.
